Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

यावद्वर्षसहस्रांते चर्मास्थि स्नायुरेव च । धातुत्रयं स्थितं तस्य नष्टमन्यच्चतुष्टयम्

Transliteration

yāvadvarṣasahasrāṃte carmāsthi snāyureva ca | dhātutrayaṃ sthitaṃ tasya naṣṭamanyaccatuṣṭayam

Translation

ہزار برس کے اختتام تک اس میں صرف کھال، ہڈی اور پٹھے باقی رہ گئے؛ اس کے تین دھاتو قائم رہے، اور باقی چار فنا ہو گئے۔

Word by Word

• yāvat: until
• yāvat: Adhikaraṇa (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable): 'until/as long as'

• varṣa-sahasra-ante: at the end of a thousand years
• varṣa-sahasra-ante: Adhikaraṇa (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक) + anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः: 'वर्षसहस्रस्य अन्ते' = 'at the end of a thousand years'

• carma: skin
• carma: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: carma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (समुच्चित-कर्ता)

• asthi: bone
• asthi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asthi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (समुच्चित-कर्ता)

• snāyuḥ: sinew
• snāyuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (समुच्चित-कर्ता)

• eva: indeed, only
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle/emphasis): 'indeed/only'

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction): 'and'

• dhātu-trayam: the three elements
• dhātu-trayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhātu (प्रातिपदिक) + traya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः: 'त्रयो धातवः' = 'the three constituents'

• sthitam: remained
• sthitam: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √sthā (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (dhātu-trayam-विशेषण) 'remaining'

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; pronoun 'of him/its'

• naṣṭam: was destroyed
• naṣṭam: Karta (Predicate adjective/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √naś (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (anyaḥ catuṣṭayam-विशेषण) 'destroyed'

• anyat: the other
• anyat: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (catuṣṭayam-विशेषण) 'other'

• catuṣṭayam: the group of four
• catuṣṭayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: catuṣṭaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; 'a set of four'

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: After ages, Andhaka’s form is reduced to remnants—skin, bone, sinew—emphasizing the relentless passage of time and the inevitability of decay even for the mighty.

Characters & Entities

• Andhaka (Daitya)
• Śiva (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even prolonged power cannot prevent bodily decline; time humbles arrogance and turns one toward surrender.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it supports the broader tīrtha-mahātmya narrative arc.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse focuses on the demon’s physical depletion.